Train Working Memory? Forget It, Study Implies

Working-memory training programs improve people’s performance on the kind of tests used in working-memory training. But those gains don’t carry over into real life, a new study finds.

Working-memory training has been touted for a variety of benefits, including helping children with ADHD. In a systematic meta-analysis, researchers in Europe reviewed 23 studies to find out if there is strong evidence on behalf of such programs.

The authors concluded that the training yields only fleeting benefits, and that the weight of research so far casts doubt on the usefulness of the programs: “There was no convincing evidence of the generalization of working memory training to other skills (nonverbal and verbal ability, inhibitory processes in attention, word decoding, and arithmetic).”

This copy is for your personal, non-commercial use only. Distribution and use of this material are governed by our Subscriber Agreement and by copyright law. For non-personal use or to order multiple copies, please contact Dow Jones Reprints at 1-800-843-0008 or visit www.djreprints.com.